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Column 2 Includables

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2019-05-16: Social Media Postees

Trump must avoid 'very stupid and costly war' with Iran — Tulsi Gabbardrt.com | 2019-05-16
Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard came out swinging against a possible conflict with Iran, slamming President Donald Trump for allowing war hawks to run his administration. | …rt.com/usa/459525-tulsi-war-iran-stupid-…

The propaganda multiplier: how global news agencies and western media report on geopolitics
Eds. | mronline.org | 2019-05-16
In this case study, the geopolitical coverage in nine leading European newspapers was examined for diversity and journalistic performance using the example of the Syrian war. | Source…mronline.org/2019/05/16/the-propaganda-m…

Nicaragua: The War of 2018
Roger Stoll | dissidentvoice.org | 2019-05-16
Nearly all US regime-change wars (Venezuela, Syria, Honduras, Ukraine, Libya, Yugoslavia, etc.) are wars of deception, fabrication, propaganda, coups and false flags. Sometimes there is a direct US military assault, more often not. These wars are waged by proxies, media puppets, hired hit-men, torturers, rapists, vandals, saboteurs, death squads and criminal gangs, through mock or …dissidentvoice.org/2019/05/nicaragua-the…

Libya, a second Syria?
unitedEditor | uwidata.com | 2019-05-16
The recent crisis in Libya has resulted in over 500 casualties, and a huge number of people being displaced, leaving the country essentially divided into two parts. The role of foreign countries is extremely critical to the current developments in Libya… countries whose selfish support of domestic groups has led to, and exacerbated the current …uwidata.com/3429-libya-a-second-syria/

'Starvation' now a reality for displaced Syrians stranded in camp near Jordanian border
United Nations | un.org | 2019-05-16
Starvation "is already starting" in a camp for displaced people in south-east Syria, a senior UN official said on Thursday, while condemning ongoing airstrikes and retaliatory shelling in opposition-held territories in the north-west.news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/05/1…

"Inside Syria's Secret Prisons": A Harrowing Account of How Assad's Torture Machine Crushed Dissent
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2019-05-16
A shocking exposé by the New York Times looks at how Bashar al-Assad's government has jailed and tortured tens of thousands of Syrians since the uprising began in 2011. According to the Syrian Network for Human Rights, nearly 128,000 people have disappeared. They are presumed to be either dead or still in custody. The group estimates almost 14,000 individuals have died under torture. The detentions are continuing even as the fighting winds down. More than 5,600 Syrians were reportedly arbitrarily detained last year in a 25 percent jump from the previous year. While the Syrian government has denied running a secre…www.democracynow.org/2019/5/16/inside_sy…

How Assad's Torture Machine Crushed Dissent in Syria
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-05-16
A shocking exposé by the New York Times looks at how Bashar al-Assad's government has jailed and tortured tens of thousands of Syrians since the uprising began in 2011. According to the Syrian Network for Human Rights, nearly 128,000 people have disappeared. They are presumed to be either dead or still in custody. The group estimates almost 14,000 individuals have died under torture. The detentions are continuing even as the fighting winds down. More than 5,600 Syrians were reportedly arbitrarily detained last year in a 25 percent jump from the previous year. While the Syrian government has denied runni…truthout.org/video/how-assads-torture-ma…

The crazy $5.2 trillion fossil fuel subsidy
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2019-05-16
On May 11, sensors at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii recorded that the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere had risen above 415 parts per million (ppm). The safe level is 350 ppm. | This is the first time since humans have existed that there has been this much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and it is well beyond the safe limit. | As 350.org (the name of this climate activist network tells you how bad things are) warns it…greenleft.org.au/content/crazy-52-trillion-fossil-fuel-subsidy

Who's behind the pro-Guaido mob that besieged Venezuela's embassy in Washington?
Jeb Sprague | thegrayzone.com | 2019-05-16
The intimidation tactics by the pro-coup embassy besiegers not only failed to deter the peace activists around the embassy, they…thegrayzone.com/2019/05/16/guaido-mob-ve…

'The time for action is now' senior UN peacekeeping official says, urging support for regional force combating Sahel terrorism
United Nations | un.org | 2019-05-16
The five-year-old force working to stabilize Africa's Sahel has shown great potential, but needs more support from the international community to reach full operational capacity, a top UN peacekeeping official said on Thursday, calling for enhanced political and economic solutions to help tackle the strife-torn region's myriad challenges.news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/05/1…

Venezuelan Government Denounces US Seizure of Embassy, Arrest of Peace Activists as Violation of Vienna Convention
Jessica Corbett, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-05-16
Venezuelan Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Ron on Thursday urged the Trump administration not to hand over the country's embassy in Washington, D.C. to leaders of an attempted coup after U.S. law enforcement forcibly removed peace activists who have lived there for since last month as guests of President Nicol√°s Maduro's government. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files……commondreams.org/news/2019/05/16/venezue…

Iranian Communists rally progressive forces to prevent war
Steve Sweeney | peoplesworld.org | 2019-05-16
Iranian Communists have called for unity among the country's progressives striving for peace in response to U.S. saber-rattling intent on provoking war with Tehran. The Tudeh Party noted "a very worrying rise of tensions between the racist, pseudo-fascist, and reactionary Trump administration and the regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran" in recent days. It …peoplesworld.org/article/iranian-communi…

Who's Behind the Pro-Guaidó Crowd Besieging Venezuela's D.C. Embassy?
Jeb Sprague | mintpressnews.com | 2019-05-16
The intimidation tactics by the pro-coup embassy besiegers not only failed to deter the peace activists around the embassy, they left Venezuela's D.C.-based opposition with a serious PR problem. After a week of hateful outbursts, a handful of marketing strategists emerged as de facto spokespeople for the mob.mintpressnews.com/whos-behind-the-pro-gu…

UN Security Council Holds Session on Joint Force in Sahelplenglish.com | 2019-05-16
United Nations, May 16 (Prensa Latina) The UN Security Council is holding on Thursday a session on peace and security in Africa dedicated to the joint force of the so-called Group of Five for the Sahel States (Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger).www.plenglish.com/index.php?o=rn&id…

The battle for rights of nature heats up in the Great Lakes
Valerie Vande Panne | nationofchange.org | 2019-05-16
This article was produced by Local Peace Economy, a project | of the Independent Media Institute. | In February, the voters of Toledo, Ohio, passed a ballot initiative that gives Lake Erie and those who rely on the lake's ecosystem a bill of rights. The idea is to protect and preserve the ecosystem so that the life that depends on it — humans included — can have access to safe, fresh drinking water. | On the surface, it seems pretty logical: Humans need water to survive, and if an ecosystem that is relied on for water — in this case, Lake Erie — is polluted (in this case, with algae), t…nationofchange.org/2019/05/16/the-battle…

Venezuelan Embassy: Peace Activists Put US Mission on Notice
Lauren Smith | globalresearch.ca | 2019-05-16
Yesterday evening activists from the International Action Center (IAC) and No War on Venezuela.org delivered a letter to the United States Mission to the United Nations in NYC from the Embassy Protection Collective (EPC). Telemundo was on the scene and | …globalresearch.ca/peace-activists-put-us…

Meeting with Venezuela's President Maduro
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2019-05-16
Fight Back! interviews noted anti-war activist Sarah Martin, of the Minnesota-based Women Against Military Madness. Martin traveled to Venezuela on a solidarity delegation organized by the U.S. Peace Council, March 11-18. | Fight Back!: The corporate media says Venezuela's government, headed by President Maduro and the national democratic Bolivarian Revolution, has little popular support. What were your impressions? | Sarah Martin: This is one of the many lies told by the media, who once again are spewing the U.S. administration's propaganda for a U.S.-orchestrated coup. Maduro is a democratically elected preside…www.fightbacknews.org/2019/5/16/meeting-…

UN Wishes Peaceful Solution at Venezuelan Embassy in Washingtonplenglish.com | 2019-05-16
United Nations, May 16 (Prensa Latina) U.N. Secretary-General spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Thursday that the United Nations hopes the situation at the Venezuelan embassy in Washington can be resolved peacefully.www.plenglish.com/index.php?o=rn&id…

Towards a Culture of World Peace
Prof Michel Chossudovsky | globalresearch.ca | 2019-05-16
"Towards a Culture of World Peace" constitutes a commitment to Human Livelihood. It consists in confronting the UU-NATO discourse in support of war and military intervention. It requires reviving a Worldwide anti-war movement, nationally and internationally as well as establishing a resolve by the governments of sovereign nation states to reject this Worldwide process of militarization.globalresearch.ca/towards-a-culture-of-w…

Robert Reich: The House now has a Constitutional duty to impeach Trump
Robert Reich | nationofchange.org | 2019-05-16
Donald Trump is causing a constitutional crisis with his blanket refusal to respond to any subpoenas. | So | what happens now? An impeachment inquiry in the House won't send him | packing before election day 2020 because Senate Republicans won't | convict him of impeachment. | So the practical political question is | whether a House impeachment inquiry helps send him packing after | election day. That seems unlikely. | Probably no more than a | relative handful of Americans are still unsure of how they'll vote on | Nov. 3, 2020. An impeachment is unlikely to reveal so many more | revolting details about Trump…nationofchange.org/2019/05/16/robert-rei…

Robert Reich: Democrats Have a Duty to Impeach Trump
Robert Reich | truthdig.com | 2019-05-16
Donald Trump is causing a constitutional crisis with his blanket refusal to respond to any subpoenas. | So what happens now? An impeachment inquiry in the House won't send him packing before election day 2020 because Senate Republicans won't convict him of impeachment. | So the practical political question is whether a House impeachment inquiry helps send him packing after election day. That seems unlikely. | Probably no more than a relative handful of Americans are still unsure of how they'll vote on Nov. 3, 2020. An impeachment is unlikely to reveal so many more revolting details about Trump that these swing vo…truthdig.com/articles/robert-reich-democ…

'Worst-of-its-kind:' Alabama abortion ban could punish providers with 99 years in prison
Alexandra Jacobo | nationofchange.org | 2019-05-16
The Alabama Senate passed legislation this week that will outlaw abortion and punish women and doctors. The "total ban on abortion" is being called the worse-of-its-kind and pro-choice groups warn that it is a "blatant effort to overturn Roe v. Wade." | "What I'm trying to do here is get this case in front of the Supreme Court so Roe v. Wade can be overturned," says Alabama state Rep. Terri Collins (R). Republican lawmakers hope that advocacy groups fight back against Alabama's ban so that the Supreme Court will take up the lawsuit and the conservative justices who are currently the majority will eliminate the…nationofchange.org/2019/05/16/worst-of-i…

Watch Elizabeth Warren Grill Trump's Top Bank Regulator
Staff | truthdig.com | 2019-05-16
Sen. Elizabeth Warren made clear Wednesday that she has no sympathy for one of the Trump administration's top bank regulators after he called a tough line of questioning on Wells Fargo "insulting." | "Good," responded Warren, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, after Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) chief Joseph Otting objected to the Massachusetts senator's criticism of the Trump administration's bank-friendly regulatory practices and lack of transparency. | The Massachusetts senator pushed Otting on his plan to keep secret the Trump administration's assessment of the successor to former Wel…truthdig.com/articles/watch-elizabeth-wa…

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio Enters Race for 2020 Democratic Nomination
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-05-16
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has thrown his hat into the crowded 2020 Democratic presidential primaries. | "There's plenty of money in this world. There's plenty of money in this country. It's just in the wrong hands," de Blasio says at the beginning of a campaign announcement video he posted Thursday to YouTube. The spot proceeds to list his progressive accomplishments as New York City mayor, including raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour; passing a bill ensuring that workers would receive paid sick leave; guaranteeing health care, including mental health; and providing free pre-K for all New York…truthout.org/articles/new-york-city-mayo…

'JOKE, NYC HATES HIM': Trump mocks 'beauty' de Blasio's presidential bidrt.com | 2019-05-16
Bill de Blasio is the latest Democratic candidate in the 2020 presidential campaign to be mercilessly mocked by the Republican frontrunner, President Donald Trump. He said the newcomer was the worst mayor New York ever had. | …rt.com/usa/459496-trump-mocks-blasio-bid…

Thursday's Daily Brief: Ebola in DR Congo, malnutrition in Laos, baby health, support for Sahel force, #ClimateAction
United Nations | un.org | 2019-05-16
On Thursday, we cover: more support needed for Sahel force, fears in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as Ebola response funding dwindles; food and nutrition concerns in Laos; an update on low birthweight babies across the world; and the UN chief's trip for climate action in the Pacific continues.news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/05/1…

Where Is the Democratic Alternative to Forever War?
Maj. Danny Sjursen | truthdig.com | 2019-05-16
There sure are lots to choose from. By now, more than 20 candidates have announced a run for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. And with national security adviser John "Regime Change" Bolton, along with the others in the four Bs cabal–Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia and Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates–seem poised to pull President Trump into war with Iran, now would seem the time for D…truthdig.com/articles/where-is-the-democ…

Indian elections: Congress combines populist rhetoric with jingoism and communalismwsws.org | 2019-05-16
The Indian bourgeoisie's traditional party of government, the Congress, like the BJP, is committed to pro-investor "reform" and an anti-China partnership with US imperialism.www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/05/16/cong…

SPLC: Congress should dismiss President Trump's dubious 'merit-based' immigration plan in favor of real reformsplcenter.org | 2019-05-16
President Trump made a speech in The White House Rose Garden today about a plan to move U.S. immigration toward a "merit-based system" that would prioritize high-skilled workers over those with family members who are already in the country.splcenter.org/news/2019/05/16/splc-congr…

'Envy of the world' or 2020 campaign pitch? Trump immigration plan apparently aims at bothrt.com | 2019-05-16
President Donald Trump has unveiled a sweeping proposal to overhaul legal immigration to make the US "envy of the world," but basically admitted it amounts to a Republican campaign platform for 2020. | …rt.com/usa/459537-trump-immigration-refo…

Leaked Document Pokes More Holes in Establishment Syria Narrativeconsortiumnews.com | 2019-05-15
Caitlin Johnstone looks at the latest revelation about a chemical attack in Douma last April that was pinned on Damascus. By Caitlin Johnstone CaitlinJohnstone.com "It is hard to overstate the significance of this revelation," tweets former British MP George Galloway of a new… Read more ?…consortiumnews.com/2019/05/15/leaked-doc…

A Biased Newsguard Honors MintPress with "Red" Rating: Here's Our Point by Point Response
Mnar Muhawesh | mintpressnews.com | 2019-05-15
Newsguard reviewer Jeannie Kamin seems to conflate reporting critical of U.S.-backed terror groups in Syria, such as Al-Nusra Front and other extremist groups, with support for Bashar al-Assad.mintpressnews.com/a-biased-newsguard-hon…

Trump peace plan shrinks Palestine, expands Israel
Allison Deger | peoplesworld.org | 2019-05-15
A leaked document of "main points" from the Trump administration's so-called "deal of the century" was published last week by Yisrael Hayom, outlining a plan for a two-state solution that includes the creation of a demilitarized state of "New Palestine," Israeli annexation of all settlements in the West Bank, a land deal with Egypt, and shared capitals …peoplesworld.org/article/trump-peace-pla…

Israel/America or Netanyahu/Trump?
Kenneth Surin | counterpunch.org | 2019-05-15
The late Uri Avnery (1923-2018), the doughty Israeli seeker of peace with the Palestinian people, posted almost weekly on CounterPunch.Avnery was savvy enough to know that the Zionist failure to achieve peace with the Palestinians meant that Israel could never be a "normal" state, no matter how much it pretended, hypocritically, to be a "democracy" adhering to "Western values".counterpunch.org/2019/05/15/israel-ameri…

Alabama Passes Near Total Ban on Abortion as Part of "Stealth Campaign" to Overturn Roe v. Wade
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2019-05-15
Alabama lawmakers voted to effectively ban abortion Tuesday, passing the most restrictive anti-choice law in the country in a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade. The bill approved by the Senate Tuesday and the Alabama House last month bans abortions at all phases. Doctors could face up to 99 years in prison for performing abortions. The bill's only exception is grave risk to the mother's life — not cases of rape and incest. The legislation is now heading to the desk of anti-choice Republican Governor Kay Ivey, and many expect she'll sign it. Opponents say they'll challenge the bill in court should it become la…www.democracynow.org/2019/5/15/alabama_p…

Alabama Senate passes bill criminalizing abortion, with no exceptions for rape & incestrt.com | 2019-05-15
Alabama is poised to pass the strictest abortion law in the US after its Senate voted to criminalize the procedure even in cases of rape or incest and send doctors performing it to prison for up to 99 years. | …rt.com/usa/459366-alabama-bans-abortion-…

Social Justice Activist Named Winner in Contentious Union Election
Staff | therealnews.com | 2019-05-15
This story has been updated. | In a stunning victory, teacher and longtime social justice activist Diamonté Brown defeated incumbent Baltimore Teachers Union President Marietta English by a vote of 901-839, according to preliminary election results. "I thank everyone that voted for me and I promise to work every day to engage more members and take action based on members' concerns and needs," Brown said. | The election is the latest chapter in a wave of grassroots-powered challengers overcoming veteran officeholders, such as New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's defeat of 10-term incumbent Joe Crowley…therealnews.com/columns/teachers-say-uni…

On Duterte's success in rigging the elections
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2019-05-15
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following May 14 statement by Jose Maria Sison, National Democratic Front of the Philippines Chief Political Consultant. | As I have predicted, Duterte is successful in rigging the May 13 elections to deliver to his candidates a false victory in the crucial senatorial race. As I have pointed out, he has to rig the elections because he has the power and the criminal personality and motivation to do so because clean and honest elections would have allowed the opposition senatorial candidates to win and frustrate his greed for power and plunder. | The rigging included the d…www.fightbacknews.org/2019/5/14/duterte-…

Canadian Green Leader Supports Same Old Pro-Imperialist Foreign Policies
Yves Engler | dissidentvoice.org | 2019-05-15
Does Elizabeth May hate Palestinians? Does the Green Party leader want the Trump administration to attack Iran? Does she support efforts to overthrow Venezuela's government? I've been asking myself these questions since reading a Canadian Jewish News story about Paul Manly's recent victory in the Nanaimo-Ladysmith bi-election. In a story titled "Concerns raised over new …dissidentvoice.org/2019/05/canadian-gree…

'Dangerously delusional' Tom Cotton claims US would win Iran war with 'two strikes'rt.com | 2019-05-15
US Republican Senator Tom Cotton is facing severe criticism from the public after bombastically claiming that the US would win a war against Iran in just "two strikes." | …rt.com/usa/459388-cotton-war-iran-us/